When I Saw Rihanna’s $900 Sweatpants at Target Checkout (And Why I’m Not Mad About It)

So there I was last Tuesday, standing in the checkout line at Target with a cart full of the usual chaos – Goldfish crackers, more dish soap because how do we go through it so fast, and those organic fruit pouches that cost twice as much as regular ones but make me feel like less of a terrible mom. The woman ahead of me was scrolling through her phone, and I couldn’t help but notice she was looking at paparazzi photos of Rihanna… grocery shopping. Like, actually buying milk and cereal, except she looked like she was walking a red carpet.

I mean, the woman was wearing sweatpants that probably cost more than my monthly grocery budget, paired with what looked like a vintage band tee (definitely worth more than my car payment), and sunglasses that could fund my kids’ college savings for a month. And somehow, she made picking up bread look like a fashion moment.

“Okay but seriously,” I said to the woman, because apparently I have no filter when I’m running on three hours of sleep, “how does someone make Target look glamorous?” She laughed and showed me her screen – turns out it wasn’t even Target, it was some fancy LA grocery store, but still.

“Right? I screenshot half her outfits thinking I can recreate them, then remember I have a mortgage,” she replied, and honestly, I felt seen.

Walking to my car (while my toddler loudly announced he needed to poop, because timing), I started thinking about this weird obsession we all have with celebrity “off duty” style. I’ve got an entire Pinterest board dedicated to it – you know, those carefully curated “casual” looks that cost more than most people’s monthly salaries but somehow feel attainable because they’re wearing them to Starbucks or whatever.

But here’s what I’ve figured out after years of trying to decode why celebrities look so effortlessly chic doing mundane things while I look like I got dressed in a hurricane most days. It’s not actually about the money they’re spending – well, not entirely. There are real strategies buried under all those designer labels that actually work for normal humans with normal budgets.

Take Rihanna’s grocery store lewk. Strip away the brand names, and what you’ve got is oversized top, relaxed bottoms, and statement accessories. That’s literally a formula you can work with. I’ve been testing this theory for months now, and let me tell you, it works.

Last weekend I was getting ready to run errands – post office, grocery store, picking up dry cleaning, the glamorous Saturday agenda of suburban motherhood. Instead of my usual uniform of whatever leggings weren’t covered in mysterious stains, I tried the Rihanna approach. Oversized vintage band tee from a thrift store ($8, and it’s actually from a Def Leppard concert my brother-in-law went to in the ’80s), wide-leg joggers from Target that I bought during a late-night online shopping spiral ($24.99, and surprisingly they don’t make my butt look completely flat), and the one pair of sunglasses I own that don’t have fingerprints all over them.

You know what happened? The woman at the post office complimented my outfit. The teenage cashier at the grocery store said I looked “cool for a mom,” which honestly might be the best compliment I’ve received all year. My husband asked if I was going somewhere special when I got home. All because I applied celebrity casual formula to Target clearance items.

The accessories thing is where celebrities really get it right, and it’s the part that translates best to real life. They never just throw on whatever’s by the door – there’s always something intentional. A baseball cap that looks perfectly worn-in, unexpected jewelry with the most basic outfit, a bag that somehow makes everything look pulled together.

I finally invested in what I call my “hero accessories” after realizing I was buying tons of clothes but nothing ever looked quite right. Found a vintage silk scarf at an estate sale for $15 – probably not designer but it looks expensive enough. I’ve worn it as a headband, tied around my purse handle, even used it as a belt with a flowy dress. Cost per wear is down to practically nothing at this point, and it makes my $12 Old Navy t-shirts look intentional instead of like I grabbed the first clean thing I could find.

Same with jewelry. Instead of buying tons of trendy pieces that’ll look dated in six months, I saved up for one really good necklace – nothing fancy, just a simple gold chain from a local jeweler that was having a sale. Wear it with everything now. Tank top and shorts for playground duty? Necklace makes it look like a choice. Hoodie for school pickup? Suddenly I look like I made an effort.

Speaking of unexpected style inspiration, can we talk about how Jonah Hill accidentally became a casual style icon? I know, not who you’d expect in a fashion conversation, but the man understands something important about looking put-together without trying too hard. His whole tie-dye and skater-adjacent thing works because there’s consistency to it – same color palette, same relaxed proportions, same energy.

I’ve been stealing this approach for my own “mom uniform.” Instead of buying random pieces that catch my eye (usually when I’m stress-shopping during naptime), I started thinking about what my consistent casual look should be. For me, it’s high-waisted jeans that actually fit my post-kids body (shout out to Madewell for making jeans that don’t give me a muffin top), oversized button-downs from the men’s section at Target because they’re cheaper and fit better, and either white sneakers or brown loafers depending on the season.

None of these pieces are expensive individually, but together they create what my sister calls my “signature look.” Which sounds way fancier than it is, but I can throw on any combination of these basics and look reasonably put-together for whatever suburban mom activities the day throws at me.

Then there’s the whole Katie Holmes cashmere bra situation that broke the internet a while back. Look, I’m not spending rent money on underwear as outerwear, but the principle behind why that outfit worked is actually brilliant. It was unexpected – taking something typically hidden and making it the focal point. You can do this same thing without breaking the bank or traumatizing the other parents at pickup.

I’ve been experimenting with unexpected layering lately. Wearing a fitted tank top under an oversized cardigan, left strategically unbuttoned. Putting a turtleneck under a slip dress (got the dress at Target for $19.99 during their last big sale). Even wearing a sports bra as a crop top under a blazer for date night, which sounds weird but actually looked pretty cool.

The key is playing with the idea of what’s supposed to go with what. Mixing athletic wear with dressier pieces, pairing casual tops with more structured bottoms, wearing day pieces at night in unexpected ways. It’s like fashion math but more fun and less likely to make me cry.

Here’s the thing though – most of those “candid” celebrity photos aren’t actually candid. Those grocery store runs and coffee shop visits? Often styled by professionals, sometimes coordinated with brands, definitely more calculated than they appear. Which used to make me feel defeated, like I was trying to recreate something that wasn’t even real.

But then I realized that doesn’t actually matter. The strategies still work, even if the execution is more manufactured than it appears. The silhouette tricks, the power of good accessories, the confidence factor – all of that translates to real life even when you’re working with a realistic budget and getting dressed while a six-year-old asks you seventeen questions about why dinosaurs don’t exist anymore.

The silhouette thing is huge. Notice how even when celebrities are wearing oversized everything, they never look sloppy? That’s because they understand proportion. If the top is loose, the bottom is more fitted. If they’re going wide-leg on the pants, the top is tucked or cropped or somehow more structured.

I had to learn this the hard way after buying what I thought was a cute oversized sweater and pairing it with my favorite wide-leg jeans. Looked in the mirror and basically resembled a walking tent. Now I balance my proportions – loose top means fitted bottom, flowy skirt means tucked shirt, oversized dress gets a belt to create some shape.

The third piece rule is maybe the most important celebrity styling trick that actually works in real life. They rarely leave the house in just pants and a top. There’s almost always something else – a jacket, an interesting belt, a statement bag, even just a baseball cap that pulls everything together.

This changed my whole approach to getting dressed. Even when I’m just wearing jeans and a t-shirt (which, let’s be honest, is most days), I add something. Denim jacket from the thrift store, cardigan thrown over my shoulders, baseball cap if my hair looks like I stuck my finger in an electrical socket. Takes two seconds but makes it look like I put thought into my outfit instead of just grabbing whatever wasn’t in the hamper.

But the biggest thing I’ve learned from studying celebrity casual style isn’t about clothes at all – it’s about confidence. Rihanna doesn’t look amazing at the grocery store just because of her $900 sweatpants. It’s how she wears them, with complete certainty that she looks good.

And that’s free, you know? Wearing your Target dress like it’s designer, throwing on your thrift store blazer like you paid full price at Nordstrom, walking into school pickup with the energy of someone who deliberately chose every piece of their outfit even if you actually got dressed in the dark while trying not to wake up the baby.

I’ve started pretending my clothes are more expensive than they are. Sounds ridiculous, but it works. When I put on my $15 thrift store sweater, I channel the energy of someone wearing cashmere. When I wear my Target jeans, I act like they’re premium denim. Fake it till you make it, but for fashion confidence.

Because here’s what I’ve figured out after way too many years of trying to crack the code of effortless style – it’s not about the price tags or having perfect pieces. It’s about intention. The most stylish people, celebrity or not, make deliberate choices about what they wear and own those choices completely.

So next time you see Rihanna looking flawless while buying cereal in an outfit that costs more than your monthly expenses, appreciate the aesthetic but look past the labels. Figure out what’s actually making it work – the proportions, the accessories, the confidence factor. Then recreate that energy with whatever’s in your closet and your budget.

And honestly? When all else fails, just go with all black and sunglasses. Works for every celebrity trying to look mysterious, works for me when I’m running late and haven’t had coffee yet, works for pretty much anyone who wants to appear like they have their life together even when they absolutely don’t. That’s probably the most useful celebrity style secret I’ve learned, and it costs practically nothing to execute.